


Proverbs 31:10-31

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-03-15
Updated: 2007-03-15
Packaged: 2019-05-15 11:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Sam visits with CJ and Danny on Valentine's Day





	Proverbs 31:10-31

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Proverbs 31:10-31

(Alternative title: “It’s the Thought That Counts”)

CJ/Danny, Sam. Mentions of Josh/Donna, Santos, others

G-rated

Spoilers through end of series

Not mine, never were, never will be, but they consume my soul

Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible

Reviews, feedback and criticism always welcomed

\-------------------------------------

_Early afternoon February 14, 2009 Santa Monica, CA._

It was a warm, sunny day, somewhat of an oddity in southern coastal California, as February was part of the rainy season.

CJ went into the family room, saw her husband watching the TV and mildly cursing. “Honey, a cab just arrived. I think Sam’s here.”

He turned off the set. “Notre Dame basketball is sucking big time this season,” he grumbled. As he rose from the couch, the doorbell rang and the two of them went to meet their guest.

The Lieutenant Governor of the state had died of a brain aneurysm earlier in the week and the funeral had been this morning in Sacramento. Sam had come out as representative of the Santos administration. A few hours ago, he had called and asked if he could fly down and see them for a while before he went back to DC. He needed to talk about something.

As the door opened, Sam saw CJ and Danny arm in arm. He took one look at CJ and burst out laughing. He went on for a good minute, just laughing and pointing at her T-shirt. “I don’t believe it!” he gasped. “You are actually wearing –“.

CJ laughed with him and looked up at an embarrassed Danny. “Danny bought it, Sam. Rag **him** about it, not me.” She continued, “I needed lots of maternity clothes this time. Last year”, a slight hitch in her voice, “I borrowed a lot but my neighbor is also pregnant this time around. Anyway, everything else Danny bought me for Christmas is in much better taste. I guess he’s allowed one slip up.”

“I was with Josh; he bought one for Donna, too. It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Danny defended himself.

“Well, I haven’t seen Donna wearing hers,” Sam stated.

CJ planted a kiss on her husband’s cheek. “Well, maybe Donna doesn’t love Josh as much as I love Danny.” She looked down at the maternity T-shirt printed with the old Pillsbury advertising jingle:

**_“Nothin’ says lovin’ like somethin’ in the oven.”_ **

They led their guest into the sunny courtyard and over to the table and chairs where a plate of turkey, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches (and a couple with just turkey on dry toast for CJ) and a pitcher of lemonade sat. Danny asked Sam if he would prefer anything else to drink (he didn’t).

Sam congratulated Danny on the Pulitzer nomination for “My Readers Expect a Little Bit More”, his best-selling book about his years as a White House reporter, and asked about the other books.

“Thanks, but it’s a long shot. Katie’s book about how the pedophilia scandals in the non-Catholic churches and other organizations have been glossed over and ignored is more deserving of the award. She took quite a bit of crap, even some death threats over it. Anyway, it’s an honor just to be nominated. Leo’s story should be ready for the summer. I can’t decide among ‘It’s What Our Fathers Taught Us’, ‘To Raise the Level of Public Debate’, and ‘There Is No Such Thing as Too Smart’ for the title. The Prince of Wales is doing pretty well on his own; I’m just offering advice here and there. Right now, we’re looking for a title. We’re trying to find a terse, pithy, and diplomatic way to say ‘I’ve finally realized that I need to make my legacy now, in my own way, rather than sitting death watch on my mother’. Any suggestions?”

“I’ll take it under advisement.” Sam reached into his briefcase, pulled out his copy of Danny’s book. “Would you sign it for me?”

Danny opened the book to the dedication page (“For CJ, who keeps holding my hand.”) and wrote “To Sam, one of the good guys. Best always, Danny.”

Thanks, Danny. CJ what’s up with ‘Macadam for the Masses’? How’s Walken working out?”

“It’s ‘Road to the Better World’. We’re doing okay. The first road in Namibia went very well. We did find a few things to adjust, but we’re doing more secondary roads there now, extending the network. Right now, we’re debating on the next site. The neediest place is the Sudan, of course, but there’s concern about working in an area so unstable, so there’s a lot of pull for Tanzania or multiple projects in the area between Senegal and Gabon. Walken hit the ground running, as it were, and is actually shaming some of the so-called 'social Darwinist rich' to give.”

They exchanged more small talk, discussed the loss of the Lieutenant Governor.

“It’s a real loss,” Danny said. “Governor Tillman gave him a lot of responsibility and really depended on him. He wasn’t just a ‘bucket of warm spit’ to Tillman.”

CJ hit her husband in the arm. “Danny, not while we’re eating! How am I going to get that image out of my mind?”

She gagged slightly.

He picked up her hand as kissed it. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, it just came out. By the way, I read somewhere that Garner really used another ‘S’ word and some reporter changed it to make it more printable.” He looked at Sam. “I know you wanted to talk with CJ about something; this might be a good time for me to leave the two of you alone.”

“Actually, Danny, I’d appreciate your input as well,” Sam answered. “Would you mind staying?”

“If my wife doesn’t want me banished from her presence.”

She smiled at him. “I guess you’re forgiven, especially after this morning.”

“Uh, guys, this is kind of serious.”

They turned their attention to Sam.

“The California constitution states that in the event of the death of the Lieutenant Governor, the Governor will name a replacement, subject to confirmation by the State Assembly and the State Senate. This morning, Tillman asked me to fill the office.”

“Sam!” CJ squealed. She reached over and kissed his cheek, then sat back. “Or is this not something you would consider?”

“CJ, when I ran for the 47th, I was exhilarated. I think I have a message, a vision, a calling to serve the people in public office. I really want to do it, but –“

“You feel an obligation to Josh, to Matt Santos.” Danny finished his thought.

“Yeah. Ceej,” he turned to her. “What do you think?”

“Sam, I think you should do it. Now, you have to keep in mind that Josh will say I advised you to do so because I’m still upset at the way he left me short-handed and he may be right, but – ”

“You are much too scrupulous, too worried about your integrity,” Danny softly reproved her, kissing the side of her head.

She turned to him. “I am **not**!” she said sharply.

“You are, you were with us, you are with everything,” he insisted again. Then he laughed, kissed her again. “But it’s part of what makes you the woman I love. It’s just my job to make sure you don’t beat up yourself too much over it.”

She smiled. Sam coughed. “Uh, guys?”

They turned back to him.

“We just finished mid-terms and next year is re-election. Can I really leave them now?”

CJ answered him. “Well, Sam, you weren’t involved in the election, so it’s not like you’re leaving a hole in the committee to re-elect. Granted, Josh wasn’t Chief of Staff last time, but now he has the full force of the Democratic Party behind him. Plus, from what I gather, Margaret has the day-to-day functioning of the West Wing bureaucracy completely in hand,” Sam nodded in assent, “so Josh won’t have to deal with that Mickey Mouse crap. Between Vinnick, Nancy, and Santos’ own military background, he doesn’t have nearly the involvement in foreign affairs that Leo and I had to have. Hoynes and Amy have the give and take with the House and Senate under control. He and Donna have what amounts to an apartment in the Residence, and he does have Donna at his side, so the personal aspects are under control. In contrast, I spent most of the last year deserted by just about all my old associates, my best friend under indictment, my own integrity under a cloud, my ‘quote unquote scruples’ keeping me from having the love and support of a partner –“

“You had it, you just didn’t know it,” Danny added softly.

“Stop interrupting.” She made an attempt to sock his arm, but there was a smile on her face and in her voice.

“Not to mention the possibility that the President was relapsing or going into the secondary progressive phase of MS. Compared to me, Josh is running a girls’ finishing school!”

“You’ve grasped all that from here? Now I see why Josh and the President were so pissed when you said ‘No’. You want to go back, take my place?” he asked.

She laughed and shook her head no.

Quieter, more serious. “You want to come work with me in Sacramento?”

No laugh, but another shake of the head.

“You know, about five years ago, President Bartlet told me that I was going for run for President one day and I can’t do that unless I’ve held some other office. Maybe I should call him, ask him as well. What do you think, Dan-“ He stopped as he saw Danny staring at him in the strangest way.

“Do it, Sam,” Danny ordered softly.

“Danny?” CJ looked at her husband. He looked back at her. There was a minute of silence, but Sam had the impression that an important conversation was taking place.

_Is this one of those things you’ve told me about?_

_I think so, but let’s not scare Sam with my weirdness._

_What do you see?_

_I don’t see anything, but Sam needs to do this, trust me._

_You know I do._

She turned to Sam. “I agree with Danny. Do it.”

Sam exhaled sharply. “Thanks, guys.” He glanced at his watch. It was 5:45 and his plane left at 8:00 PM. “I better get going. Can we call a cab?”

“I’ll run you to LAX,” Danny offered.

“Honey, we’ve got to be at church by 7:00. Remember, you’re doing the first reading.” She turned to Sam. “Our church does a thing for married couples on St. Valentine’s Day – Mass, a special guest priest/speaker, dinner, dancing, babysitting for the kids, it’s really kind of ni –“ She stopped as she saw the growing look of horror on Sam’s face.

“You forgot!” she exclaimed.

“Sam, you are in deep trouble,” Danny added.

Sam put his head in his hands. “I’m going to ask her to uproot her life for the second time in twenty-five months and I forget Valentine’s Day. Maybe I’ll have time to find something in the airport shops section; they have jewelers there, don’t they?”

CJ looked at Danny and he looked back at her. Another silent conversation was taking place.

_He really needs something._

_I don’t know if I’ll be able to find another one like it and I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me._

_I know, and the fact that you gave it to me is more important than my actually having it; after all, don’t they say it’s the thought that counts?_

Danny got up, put his hand on CJ’s jaw, and kissed her, then walked over to their bedroom. He came back with a black velvet box and a folded over Post-it note, which he handed to Sam. “Just send me a check when you get the chance.”

_Earlier that same day._

CJ woke to soft kisses on her jaw line and the tickle of his beard on her neck. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he whispered in her ear.

She opened her eyes, draped her arms around his neck, and kissed him fully on the mouth. They had long ago gotten over worrying about “morning breath” (although both of them made sure to brush and use mouthwash before going to bed every night.) “Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.” Then she sat up, reached over to the side of the bed, pulled a red bag with shredded red and white tissue from under the bed, and handed it to him.

She had taken the letter informing him of his latest Pulitzer nomination, had a bronze engraved copy made from it, and had it mounted on an oak plaque. He kissed her and told her it was better than the prize itself; she said that she would expect him to retract the statement when he actually picked up the prize in May. No, he told her, even if by some chance he did win, the ceremony was on her due date and that from three weeks before that date until after the Minnow was born, he was going to be attached to her with a belaying rope like the ones rock climbers used. Then he reached into the nightstand drawer on his side of the bed and pulled out a long rectangular black velvet box.

The bracelet consisted of one-inch square pieces of perfectly matched and polished malachite, joined together on each end by a tiny silver link. It matched the color of the “dressy” maternity dress that he had asked Hank to find for her as one of her Christmas presents.

“Danny, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so striking! I mean, the other stuff you’ve given me is all beautiful, but this is so different, so unusual! I love it! It will look so great tonight with the dress!” 

Sam opened the box. “CJ, I can’t take this, Danny bought this for you.”

“And that’s the most important part. The thought, the effort, means so much more than actually having it. I’m sure you would have remembered, or Rina would have remembered for you, except for the funeral and all. You’re about to ask her move across country again and to put herself into the fishbowl of being Second Lady of California; you can’t go home empty-handed. Take it.”

Sam kissed her cheek, gave Danny a bear hug. The cab horn sounded. They walked him to the door and made him promise to let them know how the conversation with Santos and Josh went. They said they would come up to Sacramento for his swearing in.

Danny said he would shower first, she should catch a catnap. After he dressed, he said he wanted to practice his reading for Mass some more, went into the den, and closed the door.

Since the parish deacon was part of the Mass, Danny did not have to carry in the Book of the Gospels. When it was time for him to read, he approached the ambo, looked down at the open Lectionary, and then up at the congregation.

“A reading from the book of Proverbs”.

A good lector knows how to use pace and pause, stress and silence, to make the reading interesting without over-emoting. A good lector will go over his or her assigned reading enough that he or she has a good sense of the words and can proclaim without having to read every word from the Lectionary; a good lector learns how to glance down at the Lectionary with lowered eyes but not lowered head.

Danny had apparently memorized the selection chosen by the planning committee because he did not glance down once.

A good lector will alter his or her gaze, focusing on the eyes of people seated in various rows of the church – front, back, middle, left side, right side, center – to make each member of the congregation feel as if the lector is speaking to him or her directly.

Danny’s gaze focused on CJ’s face and never left it.

“When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.

\----

She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.

\----

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel.

\----

Her children rise up and praise her; her husband, too, extols her: ‘Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all.’

Charm is deceptive, and beauty, fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is the one to be praised. Give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.”

“The Word of the Lord.”

“Thanks be to God.”

He returned to his place beside her. Diana Munoz had handed her some tissues and she was wiping her eyes. She reached for his hand, brought it to her lips.

When it came time for Communion, he stepped out and let her go first. When she approached the visiting priest with her hands extended, the man dropped the piece of the host back on the paten, raised his right hand, and, making a large Sign of the Cross over her abdomen, blessed the child she carried, and prayed for a safe pregnancy and delivery. He then picked up the host and placed it in her hands.

The meal was standard simple catering fare – a tossed salad with choice of three dressings, chicken breast stuffed with ham in a cream sauce, rice, green breans, cherry pie for dessert. The wine came in a three-liter box. The music was just a couple of pre-mixed dance music CD's rented from the local party store. But as one of the other couples at their table said, it was the thought, the fact that the parish wanted to provide a ministry to them and a night out for them, that counted.

The first time they really had to themselves was during the dancing after the dinner and the lecture. “I’d like to know how a supposedly celibate priest knows so much about sex,” CJ commented. Some of the older couples in the parish were blushing as red as the decorations during the talk.

“Maybe he’s like Tim; informed consent,” Danny laughed.

“Maybe,” she agreed. Then she reached up and kissed him, stared into his eyes. “Do you have any idea how wonderful you are?”

“No more than you, sweetheart.”

**Epilog**

_January 20, 2019_

“I, Samuel Norman Seaborn, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Excerpt from Inaugural address:

“.. and I wish to extend special thanks to Claudia Jean and Daniel Concannon, who helped me on the path to this day and also for their example of what love can be. Without their example, I might not have the love of my First Lady; without her love, I could not serve this nation in the manner it deserves.”

\----------------------------------------------------

“The Vice-Presidency is not worth a bucket of warm spit”.

John Nance Garner, Vice-President under Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1933-1941.


End file.
